Quills |  | Director: Philip Kaufman
Actors: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, Martin Childs
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
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Rating:  194 reviews
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 124 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: D2001662D
UPC: 024543016625
EAN: 0024543016625
ASIN: B00003CXPV
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Release Date: May 8, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Fictional account of the Marquis de Sade's stay in prison.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 17-DEC-2002
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
With bedroom eyes and the mischievous smirk of an insatiable roué, Geoffrey Rush is a perfect choice to play the Marquis de Sade in Quills, directed by Philip Kaufman and adapted by Doug Wright from his own stage play. Imprisoned in France's Charenton asylum at the turn of the 18th century, de Sade is a stately court jester in disheveled finery, and Rush imbues the role with the fierce urgency of a writer whose sexual fantasies are his sole remaining defense against repression and hypocrisy. Deprived of quill and ink, he writes with wine, then blood, then his own feces--a descent into madness or an impassioned refusal to be silenced? Quills embraces freedom of expression ("such beauty, such abomination," as one character notes) while affirming that all freedoms have a price. De Sade smuggles manuscripts out of Charenton with help from Madeleine (Kate Winslet), a virginal laundress who relishes de Sade's scandalous prose--a divine irony since she was taught to read by asylum abbé Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix), whose desire for Madeleine is suppressed by Catholic propriety. The delicate dynamic of this trio is shattered by the arrival of Royer-Collard (Michael Caine, appearing somewhat comatose), a righteous hypocrite appointed to silence de Sade once and for all. It's all very engrossing as a piece of theater (which it still is, despite Kaufman's elegant filming), and although Wright's literate dialogue limits de Sade to zesty ripostes and sneering perversity, Rush's intensity ensures that the marquis's plight is no laughing matter. Quills has a point, makes it without condescension, and knows the difference between madness and passion. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 194
 The beautiful people... February 9, 2010
Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
One of my favorite films of all time is 1967's `Marat/Sade'. I don't really have anywhere that I'm going with that. I mean, I mention it because this film deals with similar subject matter (the exploits of the Marquis de Sade to be specific), but that's really the end of their similarities. Both are great films, but `Marat/Sade' is basically genius. `Quills' isn't quite at THAT level.
Still, a total `A' film as far as I am concerned.
The first time I saw `Quills' I was, well, younger, and it was so shocking to me. I was completely enthralled in every frame, no matter how absurd and disturbing. Still, to this very day, this movie shocks me. The whole feel of the film is intoxicatingly obscene, carrying with it an almost tacky existence yet it is so earnest and so dedicated that nothing here appears even remotely cheesy. Every line uttered (and there are some very explicitly enticing lines) is uttered in a way that screams seriousness.
Locked away in France's Charenton Asylum, Sade continues to influence and exploit, refusing to be silenced despite efforts to do so. When he wraps his sensually compulsive talons around a naïvely curious laundress named Madeleine, there is only one way in which this burning building can fall.
Down.
The finale is utterly chaotic and ultimately so unsettling (from the severed tongue to the fantasies of a `man of god') that it instantly becomes unforgettable. `Quills' has one of the most haunting conclusions of any film this past decade, one I will always remember and applaud (it should have been all sorts of wrong, but abrasive direction and dedicated performances help craft a finale that breathes utter perfection).
The acting is a major highlight here. Sure, the direction is impeccable (there is a beautiful claustrophobic air that weaves its way through each strangely seductive scene) and the script is remarkably crafted, but it is the three central performances that really elevate this film. Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix and Geoffrey Rush chew up each and every scene with ravenous intensity. Rush has been labeled `hammy' for this performance, but there is no denying that he nailed it in my opinion. This character (especially in this light) needed a layer of controlled chaos, and Rush completely understood that. Phoenix was sadly nominated for the wrong performance in 2000. Sure, he was pretty good in `Gladiator' (although recent viewings have left me with the sour taste of `camp') but he is phenomenal in `Quills'. The way he underscores his characters own sins with the sharp mark of propriety is beautifully restrained and honest. And then there is Winslet, the definition of brilliance on screen. Her development of this woman is outstanding. The way she sinks into every word uttered by Sade, allowing his very tongue to guide her curiosity; it's just effortlessly captivating. She crafts a woman coming into her own skin, complete with the perfect balance of seductive modesty.
`Quills' is not a film that any and everyone will enjoy. It is abrasive and perverse, but it handles those qualities with a depth that allows for a feeling of poignancy. A film that understands how to make trash, art, `Quills' is an unforgettable journey into the minds of the ugly.
Quills, The Movie September 9, 2009
JT
Quills is an excellent movie about the marquis de sade. The movie arrive in its original packaging, intact and in a timely manner.
Quills August 6, 2009
Deborah Ann Carroll (Austin, TX)
DVD was in perfect condition, and recieved on time! Would definitely recommend this sender 100%
A "Rorschach" movie June 9, 2009
wiredweird (Earth, or somewhere nearby)
What you get out of this idiosyncratic movie depends heavily, far more than in most movies, on what you bring to it. The Marquis himself and treatment of him will evoke any of many different feelings, depending on the viewer's background and beliefs. I choose not to touch on those feelings, except to say that Rush, Winslet, Phoenix, and all the rest did exceptional jobs in dealing with this complex character and setting.
I'm not forgetting Michael Caine, by the way. Instead, I single him out for special recognition. His rendering of the viciousness that de Sade's name attached to is outdone only by the genteel and brutal hypocrisy he brought to his character. Caine has done it before, when he created a startlingly similar character in an utterly different setting, in The Statement. Perhaps, in Quills, the character has slightly more awareness of his own dark nature. Outside of that, I find the characters nearly interchangeable.
Given the character it describes and the state of mental health care in the first years of the nineteenth century, many won't find this easy to watch. If you tolerate it, though, its musings on just which lunatics are running the asylum might lead you analogies in many parts of today's society.
-- wiredweird
Good but long. June 1, 2009
M. Johnson (Mpls, MN)
Great movie. A drama but funny. Not one to be watched if you don't have a lot of time, it seemed a bit long.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 194
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